


Things are Finally Going to be Okay

by corvobiancos



Series: TLOU Oneshots [2]
Category: The Last of Us
Genre: Everybody Lives, Gen, excuse me this is my emotional support tess-never-got-bitten au, just some soft post-TLOU stuff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-20
Updated: 2020-06-20
Packaged: 2021-03-03 18:55:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 927
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24830413
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/corvobiancos/pseuds/corvobiancos
Summary: Joel, Ellie, and Tess have just settled down in Jackson, and I wanted to take a break from all the angst and depressing stuff I've been doing lately.
Series: TLOU Oneshots [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1796053
Comments: 1
Kudos: 24





	Things are Finally Going to be Okay

**Author's Note:**

> I didn't feel like agonizing for 3 months over perfecting this, so this is a first draft of me word-vomiting some semi-happy stuff for once.

**JACKSON, 2034.**

It had been _twenty_ years since Tess had had a hot shower, much less been able to wash her hair with real shampoo and conditioner. She had spent far too long in there wondering if the sound of Joel’s voice would wake her up and she would find herself back in Boston, never having met Ellie or gone through everything she had endured to get to Jackson in the first place.

She stared at her reflection in the mirror, holding the towel close to her body. Tess leaned toward the mirror, dragging her free hand down her cheek. All this didn't feel right. She _should_ be out there either dead or barely surviving.

The constant ache in her chest was still there, though; her instincts were telling her it was only a matter of time before _one_ bad wave of infected wiped out the entire commune. It would take a _long_ time for that feeling to go away...or at least lessen to a manageable degree. Twenty years of being unable to trust most people was going to make living in a commune like Jackson difficult for a while.

She heard a soft knock on the door, and Joel's voice said on the other side, "Got some clean clothes out here for ya."

"Thanks." Tess's voice was barely audible, but she heard Joel make some acknowledgement as his footsteps got quieter as he left her alone.

Once Tess was dressed, she made her way downstairs where Joel was laying on a couch. He looked as exhausted as she did, and rightfully so. "How're you feelin?" she said, having a seat on the coffee table.

"Been better."

She forced a chuckle, "I hear ya there..." Tess glanced around, noticing Ellie was nowhere to be found.

Joel explained before she could ask, "She's avoidin' me."

That made Tess wonder: Did Ellie _really_ believe his story that the Fireflies just couldn't do anything? That was the entire reason they had gone across the goddamn country in the first place—Not that Tess didn't agree with his choice. She had lost too many people in her past to let another one go. If there was anyone that understood where Joel was coming from, it was her.

But Ellie wouldn't see it that way. At least, not for a while.

Tess gave a small sigh, "...You did the right thing, Joel."

Joel turned his head to look up at her. He didn't need to say anything for her to know what he meant.

She continued, "I woulda done the same thing if it were me instead."

"That makes me feel _loads_ better." He looked away and shut his eyes.

Maybe it was too soon for the awkward _'you were right to choose not to save the world from the apocalypse so stop feeling sorry for yourself'_ conversation. Tess stood and sighed again. "You see where Ellie went?"

Joel gave a quiet grunt to acknowledge her, but no actual direction.

She nodded and took the hint to leave him alone. "I'm goin' for a walk," she said. She had built a habit of making sure he knew where she was, just in case something happened. Tess made her way to the backyard, realizing there was a pretty decently-sized shed back there. She wondered how she didn't notice, but she _had_ let herself sleep a lot more than usual once they were settled in the house.

Ellie was laying in the yard, staring up at the clouds. Tess joined her, having a seat next to Ellie before she said, "You doin' okay, kid?"

"Since when are you all mushy like this?" Ellie said, eyes fixed on the sky.

"Since...y'know." She glanced at Ellie, whose gaze darted away when their eyes met.

They sat in silence for a while, and Tess was content with that. It was finally a moment where they weren't waiting for someone to show up out of nowhere to attack them. The sky slowly turned a fiery orange as she watched the clouds disappear, and it almost made her jump when Ellie spoke again:

"Do you think we could...Can I stay in the shed over there?"

Tess smiled—a small one, but still a smile—and said, "I don't see why not. I know I woulda killed for that kinda setup when I was your age."

Ellie chuckled a little, "I've never actually imagined you not being an adult. I thought you were always like this."

"Ouch," Tess replied, giving Ellie a light punch in the arm, "I was a lot like you, y'know. I liked comics, I played video games...I remember there was this one game..." Tess pressed her lips together, trying to think of the name, "...I dunno if you've ever heard of Indiana Jones, but this game had this guy that ran around old ruins n' shit lookin' for these old artifacts like Indiana Jones. It was pretty cool...I kinda miss it."

"Maybe someone's got a copy of it here."

Tess shook her head, "Nah...it wasn't super popular back in the day. Think I was the only one that actually liked it."

"Well," Ellie said, "If you find a copy out on a patrol or something you should bring it back for me."

Tess smiled. "Deal."

For the first time in over twenty years, Tess finally relaxed a little. She and Ellie continued laying there together in silence for awhile longer, and Tess didn't even notice that the sun had set when she said, "I think we're _finally_ gonna be okay."


End file.
